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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26775007">Goretober: Squid Edition</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LightRedFox/pseuds/LightRedFox'>LightRedFox</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Splatoon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Biting, Bruises, F/M, Fires, Goretober, Mutilation, Octo Expansion, Sanitization, Scars, Vampires, Vomiting, also PLEASE read the warnings I’m serious some get kinda fucked up, getting beat up, hanahaki, hoshinamida, star tear disease, there’s doublemega but it really isn’t important to any of the stories</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:21:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,542</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26775007</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LightRedFox/pseuds/LightRedFox</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Collection of coroika/splatoon drabbles utilizing Goretober 2020 prompts. Tags will be updated as chapters get added, and trigger warnings will be displayed before each chapter. Rated M mostly just to be safe.</p><p>Prompts by Aless_Was_Here on Twitter.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>CoroikaCollection</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Bruises</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is my first time doing goretober, and I went with tamer prompts since I get triggered by specific kinds of gore. Also despite these being gore prompts there’ll be some fluff in the middle of angst bc I have more chances to do so with writing compared to drawing. I’ll try to just do a few hundred word stuff daily, but who knows if I’ll be able to finish all of them. Either way, enjoy.</p><p> </p><p>TW // Getting beat up, vomiting, bruises</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Turfing was supposed to be fun. Something to do with friends in your free time, or a way to exercise while also showing off. Skull thought of it that way too, just a sport that was meant for fun, but clearly his opponents would always take defeats much more personally.</p><p>He had stopped turfing for the day, said goodbye to his teammates, and began the walk back to his apartment. That was when he noticed three inklings following him. Two looked pissed off, and the last one terrified, all of them he recognized from hours earlier. Let’s call the angry ones A and B, and the scared one can be C.</p><p>The purple inkling stopped in his tracks and turned around. His stalkers paused for a moment, and he locked eyes with A, right before they sprinted towards him and lunged, fury in their eyes.</p><p>Skull sidestepped and put his leg out, tripping A up and sending them falling against the hard concrete. He glanced up at the sound of more footsteps and received a harsh punch to the face from B, the force making him reel and take a step back out of instinct. A took the chance and grabbed onto his leg, sending him crashing down next to them. His head collided with the concrete with an ugly crack and he gasped, pain rocking his body.</p><p>“This is for making me lose my rank.” B snarled, stomping his foot directly on his stomach and knocking the wind out of him. A scrambled back up and kicked Skull’s side, pained grunts coming out of his mouth as the onslaught continued.</p><p>More kicks followed from both sides, each one with more anger than the last.  A’s foot connected with his stomach and out came his lunch, sickly green bile mixed with blue traces of blood getting onto his clothes as well as the pavement.</p><p>“Stop-Stop! Please, you’ve done enough!” C screamed, begging and pleading while tugging both of the inklings’ arms back. Finally, they stopped, and Skull coughed out the last of his stomach’s contents under A and B’s angry glares.</p><p>“Let’s go before someone sees us.” B grunted. Skull couldn’t look up, but the sound of footsteps slowly fading was enough to tell him it was over.</p><p>Skull just laid there on the ground for what felt like hours. He could already feel the bruises forming on his face and body, over the same spots old ones occupied. He eventually took a shaky breath and forced himself to stand back up, head throbbing and body aching.</p><p>This wasn’t the first time, and it wasn’t going to be the last.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Scars</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>tw // scars</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Double’s body went rigid as her fingers brushed over his bare back, fists gripping themselves so tightly his claws were digging into his palms. Omega removed her hands immediately, and he almost whined at the loss of touch. He scolded himself internally. Make up your mind, do you want this or not?</p><p>“Are you okay?”</p><p>“I-I’m fine.” The shaky tone of his voice betrayed his words, and she gave him a knowing look.</p><p>“You didn’t seem okay-”</p><p>“I said it was fine!” Double snapped, before immediately regretting his harsh tone.</p><p>“I-I’m sorry. Just...I’m fine. I swear.”</p><p>Omega still didn’t fully believe his words, but pressing the issue would just make him clam up again.</p><p>“...Alright. Just tell me if you don’t like it.”</p><p>Omega reached her hands out towards his back again, and this time he was prepared for the warmth that came with her touch. His body stiffened up as her entire hand pressed against him, but it soon relaxed once she began to trace outlines on his back.</p><p>Double’s entire body was littered in scars, all of various shapes and sizes. The marks were colored pale in comparison to his dark skin, standing out the moment you looked at him. From long slashes caused by different sharp objects, to tiny burn marks in the shape of a circle, they were spread all around his back, chest, and arms.</p><p>Omega ran her fingers over them all, starting at his shoulders and making her way down to his hips. Each one had a texture different from the rest of his skin, and she gently rubbed the ones that looked the deepest. Her breathing was calm, warm breaths of air hitting his back as she moved from his back to his left arm, paying attention to every single scar.</p><p>Omega was silent the whole time save for her breaths, and Double grew anxious. She was disgusted, wasn’t she? That must be it. His body was ruined after all, no one would want to be touched or held by such a used body. She’d abandon him, leave him all alone…</p><p>He pulled his arm away from her grasp and flopped down onto the bed, yanking the blanket up and covering his body from view. His ugly, disgusting body.</p><p>“Double…” She crawled under the sheets, and he turned his back to her, burying his face into a pillow.</p><p>“I’m hideous.” His voice came out muffled. </p><p>“You’re handsome the way you are.” Omega whispered gently, wrapping her arms around him and kissing a few scars near his shoulder. He just sank deeper into his pillow at her words, refusing to face her. She sighed and leaned her head against his neck, arms still tightly wrapped around him.</p><p>“I just wish you’d see it too.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Glitch</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>tw // sanitization, attempted strangulation, assault(?) basically someone attacking someone else</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rider stared absentmindedly at the blueprints they had laid out all over the table, detailing the layouts of the different stages in rotation. This meeting was supposed to be about new strategies, about which specific weapons the team could use to take advantage of each stage’s uniqueness as well as their own capabilities.</p><p>Stealth was speaking about...something. Rider remembered something about weapons, and that was it. The inkling blinked slowly, the words going through his ears, not registering at all. He could see his teammates point at certain points circled on the map, nodding and shaking their heads while gesturing their hands at each other and all over the room. Nothing was making sense. Why couldn’t he understand what they were saying?</p><p>His right eye began to twitch, and his mind was slowly being filled with static. His body started to feel oddly heavy, and his shoulders slumped as he slouched on his seat. Rider was tired. Didn’t he get enough sleep last night? He always did push himself to his limits, it was just coming back for him, that must be it. He just needed to rest, just for a minute or so…..</p><p>Was the room always this...blue?</p><p>“Rider? You okay?”</p><p>Then his mind glitched.</p><p>His body moved on it’s own, head snapping up at the voice, eyes a sickly cyan and his ink color quickly following suit. There was a sudden chill in the air. No one said anything, just stared.</p><p>Then he lunged forward, table overturning and seats falling as what was supposed to be Rider grabbed Stealth by the neck and slammed him down against the ground. Screams filled the room as the poor boy gasped desperately for air, adrenaline hitting him as he tried to pry off Rider’s hands from his neck, clawing them in a futile attempt to breath.</p><p>A chair smashed against Rider’s body, sending it tumbling down to the ground and away from Stealth. Bamboo dropped the chair and ran over to help him up, the octo coughing as his lungs gladly took in oxygen again. Rider’s expression didn’t change, eyes still blank and emotionless as he easily got up and grabbed the dynamo on the wall, the color of the roller changing to the teal that plagued his body.</p><p>He lunged again, this time targeting Bamboo. His arms raised the heavy roller up high, and the girl pulled Stealth with her to the ground just as it slammed against the wall, a loud crack echoing through the air as painted chunks scattered near their feet.</p><p>He pulled the dynamo from the wall, now dented, and looked down at his two teammates, their expressions a mixture of fear, confusion and anger. Betrayed.</p><p>Rider lifted the weapon again, the only command in his mind to attack. He was about to finish the job when something connected with the back of his head, and he blacked out.</p><p>When he came to, everything hurt. He coughed violently, some blood mixed with saliva, and groaned in pain. His vision was shaky, but it wasn’t blue anymore. He was back to normal. He could tell the entire area was wrecked, papers scattered everywhere and the chairs and table flipped over.</p><p>“He’s waking up.” Someone, probably Bamboo, muttered above him.</p><p>“What should we do?”</p><p>“Is he going to attack again?”</p><p>Attack…? No, he would never do that. He’d never hurt them, not his team. But the sight in front of him didn’t lie, the dent in the wall, their frightened faces...</p><p>“Wasn’t...me…..” Rider spoke weakly. His head was throbbing, pain shooting up with every word.</p><p>“It….wasn’t me…..”</p><p>“Just rest, Rider. The ambulance will be here soon.”</p><p>“You don’t get it…” The fear of what he had done finally hit, and he felt like crying. He had destroyed whatever trust they had spent years building up, all in a few minutes. All because of something he couldn’t control. All because he was weak. </p><p>“It wasn’t me…”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Nosebleed</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>tw // (nose)bleeding, concussion, losing consciousness</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Crack!</p><p>Prince’s head collided with the wall of the training room, a miscalculation on his part while dodge rolling. He gasped as he pulled back, head spinning and feeling something drip down his face. He dropped his dualies and stumbled backwards onto the floor.</p><p>“Prince! Are you alright?”</p><p>The sound of footsteps echoed in his head as Eging Jr. and N Pacer ran towards him, eyes widening at the sight of blue blood flowing freely from his nose. Looks like their training session was getting a rather abrupt end.</p><p>“Ah shit, just hold your head up, I’ll get something to block the flow!” Eging quickly spun around and dashed for the door, yanking it open and speeding down the hall. Pacer knelt down and placed Prince’s head carefully on her lap, not caring that her pure white coat was getting stained with dark blue droplets.</p><p>“What happened?”</p><p>“Tried to dodge roll….” Prince mumbled, feeling lightheaded already.</p><p>“My head hurts…”</p><p>The blood was only flowing from his nose, but a large bump on his forehead was beginning to grow. His insides felt queasy, and he was grateful Pacer had laid him down on his back, or else he might have thrown up on her.</p><p>“Just stay calm, alright? Breath in and out slowly.”</p><p>Prince nodded weakly, inhaling and exhaling in time with Pacer’s rhythm, the older inkling repeatedly saying “breath in, breath out” over and over like a mantra. He didn’t feel any better, in fact his head felt like it was going to explode at any moment.</p><p>Eging burst through the door, this time carrying multiple white towels he held under his arm. He threw one over to Pacer, who grabbed it in the air and dabbed it gently against Prince’s nose, the white cloth quickly stained with blue.</p><p>“This should stop the bleeding.”</p><p>“Just...want to sleep….”</p><p>“Stay awake. I think you might have a concussion.” She murmured, panic in her eyes despite her otherwise cool demeanor.</p><p>N Pacer was always good at pretending to be unaffected by things, but her teammates were a whole different story. They were the select few that would get a reaction out of her, shown by the worry that was apparent in her features the moment Prince had fallen.</p><p>“It hurts…” He whined, voice cracking as he clutched her coat tightly. Each time he blinked his eyelids felt heavier and heavier, closer and closer to not wanting to open for a long time.</p><p>“Hang in there, buddy.” Eging knelt down beside him, tapping the tip of his shoes against the ground anxiously.</p><p>Prince didn’t reply, eyes blinked slowly before finally closing completely, not opening again. His grip on Pacer’s coat loosened and his body slumped against her lap.</p><p>“Prince. Prince? Prince!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Eyes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I really don’t like how this one turned out but I already put the effort into it so. here.</p><p>tbh it’s not THAT bad, it’s just that it ends so abruptly bc I essentially just took the angst from what’s clearly a comfort/angst situation. whatever. and no I’m not making a comfort part two.</p><p>// repressed trauma, anxiety attacks</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Bobble didn’t like opening her eyes. They were...more unique than most others. Usually that would be seen as a good thing, much like how the golden eyes of the Squid Sisters were considered beautiful, but that wasn’t the case for her. People would always stare, point and whisper things about her, starting in the playground from when she was just a kid. They’d say bad things about her, both to her face and behind her back. Ludicrous things about being possessed, or maybe being a demon in disguise. They were silly rumors, really, and a lot of people just took them as jokes, but to her, they all hurt.</p><p>She was only a kid, and even if an adult scolded the others, they never stopped. At that point the only option she had was to close them, so that they wouldn’t have anything to be afraid of. It quickly grew into a habit, and now it was what she was known for. Bobble Hat of the Idiot Team, always seen with a smile and never a stare.</p><p>Contacts were always an option, but she had gotten so used to not opening them at all that they seemed like a nuisance at this point. Always having her eyes closed did have its drawbacks; she couldn’t see anything unless she decided to peek open her eyes a bit. Of course, the lack of sight never impeded her movement, it even improved her senses somewhat, allowing her to sense opponents like she had her own internal thermal ink ability. It was perfect for battle, and made it easy enough to not bump into other people in public.</p><p>All in all, Bobble liked keeping her eyes closed. It meant people weren’t scared off by her appearance, and made her life easier overall. Nothing to make fun of, nothing to be frightened at, nothing to cry over.</p><p>Today her team was fighting Orange Team, an invitation given to them to meet at the Manta Maria. Apparently they had devised a new tactic and wanted to test it out on another team. She was all for it of course; turfing with her friends was always fun, and they hadn’t fought Army in a long while.</p><p>“Let’s do our best, guys!” Goggles grinned at all of them as they reached the spawn point. Bobble could tell he was smiling even without opening her eyes, the other’s positivity practically audible. It was contagious too, a few booyahs being thrown out before the match had even begun.</p><p>The starting horn blared, and they all ran forward, inking the ground as they ran. Soon enough, both teams had reached the middle, Goggles and Army standing on the grid above the ship’s deck confronting each other. Goggles was ducking behind the giant wooden mast in time with Army’s shots, Headphones was dealing with B Sailor to counteract his range, each of them trying to find opportunities to splat one another, and Specs was trying to get past Forge and reach the enemy spawn. Which left...</p><p>Bobble sensed someone approaching her and her ears twitched as she heard the familiar sound of a splat bomb being thrown. She dodged to the left, barely being hit in the back by the bomb W Sailor had thrown. Unfortunately for the smiling inkling, the other inkling’s tentacles began glowing a bright orange at that moment, her special meter completely filled thanks to the bomb explosion.</p><p>White pulled out a large contraption, nearly falling backwards from how big it was compared to her small frame, before throwing it down hard against the ground in front of Bobble, a dark orange mist rising up to the sky before forming a shadow over them all.</p><p>Orange ink droplets quickly began to rain down on the battlefield, stinging the skin of the blue inklings. Specs and Headphones were forced to retreat and super jump back to spawn as Goggles got splatted by Army, who took his opportunity to move forward.</p><p>Bobble felt the odd hissing sensation of enemy ink landing on her as the drops hit her hands and legs, and curious to see what was causing it, chanced a glance upwards and opened her eyes slightly as she ran. A poor decision on her part.</p><p>For a split second, she saw the orange droplets falling from the dark ink cloud above, raining heavily over the battlefield. The next second, a single drop of ink landed in her eye, and she yelled in pain as she was temporarily blinded, shutting her eyes back closed in a panic. The pain was excruciating, like her eyes were on fire. Bobble tripped over her own feet and fell to the ground, allowing the ink cloud to splat her and send her back to spawn.</p><p>However, the ink that landed in her eye still remained, even after respawning. Tears began to form as she tried to rub the ink out with her sleeves, to no avail. Getting ink in one’s eye was a relatively normal occurrence in turf war, but Bobble had never really dealt with eye injuries before, so her reaction was more extreme. She hid herself in the corner of the ship, trying to deal with the irritation.</p><p>“Bobble, are you alright?” She heard the soft voice of Headphones, followed by the sound of footsteps running towards her. Her teammates.</p><p>“Ah jeez, did you get some ink in your eye? Here, let me see-”</p><p>She opened her tear stained eyes, irises bright red and glowing as her pupils dilated in pain. Headphones flinched instinctively, and that made Bobble turn away in shame, still blinking rapidly.</p><p>“Woah! Your eyes are all red and stuff!” Goggles pointed at them before Specs slapped his hand down.</p><p>“Goggles, not the time!”</p><p>Specs took a step forward and Bobble shrunk back, tears forming not just from the ink but from fear.</p><p>“They’re ugly, aren’t they? That’s why you don’t want to look at me.”</p><p>“Bobble wait, I didn’t mean to-”</p><p>“Is there something wrong?”</p><p>As if things couldn’t get any worse, Army had arrived at their base, though he lowered his N-Zap as he approached once he noticed the other team had stopped turfing. The rest of his team was following suit, and she wished she could just jump off the ship and into the water below to escape, but she’d just end up back at the spawn point.</p><p>All her friends’ eyes landed on her. Worried, shocked, confused-it didn’t matter. It hurt, but she didn’t want to open her eyes, out of fear of being judged more. They were all staring, surrounding her, and she suddenly felt like a small five year old again, being made fun of by her classmates in the playground. It was all too much.</p><p>Her hearts were pounding so hard she could hear them in her ears, throat clenching up as she gasped for air through choked sobs. Body shaking, she curled herself up into a ball and started to cry, everyone’s eyes on her.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Hanahaki</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>// vomiting (flowers), theres a small description of a character imagining their death from the disease</p><p>also I never mention who the crush is but. if you know me you can probs put two and two together</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Headphones? Headphones, are you awake?”</p><p>A muffled voice came from outside the door, followed by repeated knocking, both left unanswered.</p><p>Pink camellia petals adorned the inside of the locked bedroom, scattered all over the carpeted floor and the various pieces of furniture. The owner of them all was currently coughing up a storm as she curled herself up into a fetal position, resting her head against the pillows she stacked below her body.</p><p>Headphones was sick. Very, very sick. Her lungs ached with every breath she took, and basic actions like talking or eating stung her throat. How long had she been feeling this way? Weeks? She supposed it had actually started months ago, when the petals were only just a random occurrence that barely affected her life, something to laugh off with a shrug. Now, however, it was the bane of her existence.</p><p>Headphones felt them resurfacing, clawing their way out of her body. Moments later she vomited out all the petals growing in her throat, blue blood already mixed with the natural light pink of the flowers. She hated looking at them, knowing that more were growing inside her each second she was alive. Maybe they’d even keep growing inside her after she died. She pushed them off the bed in frustration, tired of seeing them everyday of her life.</p><p>How did she end up with such a stupid disease, anyway? She moved to lay on her back completely, sinking into the mattress as she reflected on the past.</p><p>Well, why she had it was simple enough; she was in love. Everyone knew what Hanahaki was, even if she originally brushed it off as a myth only seen in fiction. When and where it started was a bit more blurry. She had been suffering from an itchy throat weeks before the first petal came out, but whether it was an early symptom or a coincidence was unknown to her. Whatever the case, the first petal she coughed out came while she was window shopping. Looking at different shoes she couldn’t afford, daydreaming idly about the future….then one coughing fit later, she hacked out her first petal, light pink and unsuspecting. She didn’t get hit with the horrible realization until a week later though, when she bothered to search up the symptoms. Now the only question that was left was who they were for…..</p><p>Headphones knew the answer from the start, just thinking about him made her chest tighten and hearts beat faster. Oh how she longed to be with him. Her thoughts wandered away from her pain for a moment, focusing instead on the person of her affection. He was always so serious and cool in battle, yet kind and warm outside of it. Even if he didn’t like showing it, she knew how sweet he truly was to the people he cared for. A dopey smile formed on her face as she dreamed of being one of those people, the thought of him returning her feelings with a toothy smile already making her blush-</p><p>A sudden uncomfortable feeling in her throat formed, and moments later she hacked up more camellia petals laced with blood, the sight of them falling all over the blankets effectively ruining her happy train of thought. There was no point thinking of the future if she didn’t think of a way to have one.</p><p>She needed to get rid of these damn flowers growing inside her...which meant getting rid of her feelings. Headphones needed to get over him, move on, and she had been trying for the past few months, but she couldn’t, no matter how hard she tried. Curse her teenage self for being too hopelessly in love, and for reading too many romantic novels. </p><p>If she got removal surgery, the price was never seeing him the same way again, never feeling the same warmth around him, maybe even forgetting about him entirely…..as cheesy as it sounded, her memories with him were too important to just throw away, even for her life. Not to mention, if the rumors from survivors were true, she’d most likely never find love again. Did she really want that?</p><p>“Headphones, are you awake?” Another knock on the door.</p><p>The blue inkling sighed as she forced herself off the comfortable bed, head throbbing from the constant pain of gagging on flowers. She shuffled over to the door and cracked it open just enough so that she was visible, but the rest of her room, including all the flower petals, was hidden from view. </p><p>“Hey, are you alright?” Specs revealed himself as the one behind the door, eyebrows furrowed in worry.</p><p>“Ah, sorry, I was taking a nap….my throat’s been killing me all day.”</p><p>Oh, if only Specs could see how completely serious she was being.</p><p>“Well, we’re supposed to be heading over to Blackbelly for training right now. If you’re not feeling well, we can call it off for the day.”</p><p>“No, I’m fine.” She gave him her best fake smile, voice a bit hoarse.</p><p>“I’ll just freshen up a bit and meet you guys outside, don’t worry about me okay?”</p><p>“...Alright, whatever you say.” Headphones gave a small wave before shutting the door, sighing heavily as she leaned against it, shutting her eyes tight. </p><p>Everyday, she hoped that she’d wake up from whatever nightmare she was in, where she’d suffer until confessing her love to someone she wasn’t sure returned her feelings. She didn’t even want to think of what would happen if she got rejected. Would she die immediately? Would the thorns inside her tear her lungs open in grief?</p><p>She opened her eyes again to shake herself out of those bad thoughts, looking distastefully at all the petals by her feet. She’d have to clean it all up later.</p><p>It was fine for now. She’d continue her routines of training, going to school, and spending time with her friends. She’d act like nothing was wrong, like there wasn’t a growing flower inside her trying to kill her. She’d force herself to make a decision if the disease became too much to handle.</p><p>Until then, the pain wasn’t going anywhere.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Melting</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>// dissolving</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hachi hissed in pain as drop after drop of the deadly rain hit his body, forcing himself forward as he tripped and stumbled over every rock and tree root, desperate to find his camp. The dark night clouds covered up any light the moon and stars could have provided, so he was left lost in the woods in the middle of a downpour.</p><p>Every sharp drop of water melted part of him, magenta ink dripping to the ground as his body slowly dissolved, like an acid eating up anything it touched. The poor octoling had never encountered this weather underground, and he sure as hell wasn’t prepared for it. What had been a simple outing to gather firewood turned into a life or death situation in an instant.</p><p>His left foot caught a loose tree root and he was sent tumbling down, whatever few sticks he had managed to collect beforehand spilling out of his grasp. Hachi gasped for air and tried to stand up and get moving again, the rain pelting his back endlessly, making his movements more desperate.</p><p>The fall had injured his foot, most likely a strain of some sort. Whatever it was, it hurt too much trying to put his weight on it, and it hurt to stay in an open area without any cover. Hachi crawled towards the nearest tree and huddled himself up against the trunk, trying and failing to cover up his exposed areas with his already soaked sweater. His body was dissolving with each passing second, and if the rain kept up, the only thing that’d be left of him was a magenta puddle.</p><p>His mind wandered over to his teammates, his trusted friends and companions who were with him from the start. Would they be safe in the tents they owned? Were they anxiously awaiting his return, gazing out at the rain wondering where he was?</p><p>….Would he even make it back to them?</p><p>Hachi pulled his legs close to his chest, trying to make himself as small as possible. The tree’s leaves and branches provided barely any relief from the downpour, and as the octo looked up at the sky for a sign of some sort, the rain seemed to become louder, stronger, heavier, ignoring whatever pleas the octoling was mumbling to the gods above. </p><p>He could only hope he’d be able to see the sun again.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Burned</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>tw // fire, glass, jumping out of buildings</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Aloha breathed quickly, smoke filling his lungs and panic coursing through his veins as he forced another door open, being met with more orange flames licking at the walls, blocking any escape routes he had.</p><p>He flinched and shut the door immediately, throwing the next door open and jumping back at the fire clawing its way out of the room, not bothering to try and close the door and sprinting past it.</p><p>The pink inkling was living his worst nightmare. He should’ve never brought the alcohol out, he should have never lit the sparklers in the cake so close to the bottle, he should have never invited so many people-</p><p>The ceiling collapsed just meters away from his position, making him stumble to the floor, wooden tiles so hot he had to force himself back up lest his arms and legs burn up. He looked back and realized in horror that the way back had been blocked off, and he was trapped. Not like there was a use going back in the first place, the staircase was almost certainly destroyed by now.</p><p>His eyes darted back and forth at the last remaining doors, trying his luck, but not even being able to open the doorknob due to how hot it had gotten. His attempt to turn the door just made him yelp in pain as his palm immediately got burned.</p><p>“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Aloha slammed a fist against the door, only succeeding in bringing himself closer to tears. He didn’t want to die like this, not here, not now-</p><p>He heard the whirring of sirens from somewhere, probably the outside, and snapped his head towards the noise. His eyes landed on what he assumed was a window and his hearts rose for a moment, only to have them immediately sink to his stomach as he realized it was almost entirely behind the flames in front of him.</p><p>He was trapped in a dead end, with the only way out seemingly through that closed window. He could try to fight off the fire until help got to him….but would they get to him in time?</p><p>The fire had reached the hall, and it was closing in on him, eating the walls and crawling towards him, hungry for more things to burn. He made his decision.</p><p>Aloha ran forward, adrenaline pushing his pain tolerance to the max. He ignored the searing pain that he felt on his exposed skin as he tried to force the window open, handle burning his hands up. When that didn’t work, he slammed his fist against the glass. A crack formed, and the next fist sent glass shattering out of the house, though some shards also embedded themselves into his fist. He didn’t care. He had made it this far.</p><p>He steeled himself, and with as much courage as he could muster, jumped out the window, the remaining pieces of glass scraping against his legs as he fell. Aloha landed painfully on the bushes outside, a sickening crack filling the air. Seconds later he was surrounded by several lobsters dressed in firefighter outfits.</p><p>“We have another one! Get the stretcher!”</p><p>He didn’t register the people’s words, the mix of yelling, orders, and questions going through his head. Instead he just laughed.</p><p>“I’m alive...I’m alive!” He choked out as he felt the last of his strength leaving his body, adrenaline finally disappearing.</p><p>“I’m…..”</p><p>Aloha passed out, body covered in multiple burns and wounds as they carried him away.</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Blinded</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>// Hoshinamida/Star Tear Disease, colorblindness</p><p>this is sorta avi/forge but also not really so idk</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A light twinkling sound came alongside the first tear, a single, star shaped teardrop hitting the table as Aviators stared at her talking figure, barely noticing it until he glanced down out of habit. A tiny puddle on the table greeted him, but instead of being translucent like regular water, it was shining brilliantly with all the colors of the rainbow. </p><p>He raised an eyebrow at the odd occurence, but said nothing. After all, it wasn’t so weird he needed to bring everyone’s attention to it, and it’s not like it would happen again, would it?</p><p>Yet the same day, hours after their meeting had ended and he whispered goodnight to her over the phone, the purple inkling heard another twinkling sound alongside her giggles. Avi felt something wet slide down his eyes, and after she had hung up, he faced his phone camera towards himself.</p><p>He was crying, but the tears dripping down to his cheeks were shining with the brilliance of all the colors he could think of. This wasn’t normal, not at all. When the tears fell, even if it was for a splitsecond, he swore they were in the shape of stars.</p><p>Squoogle searches gave him nothing but rumors, all about crushes and unrequited love. After hours of scrolling through unreliable blog posts, Aviators decided to ignore the tears until they really became a hassle. They were more of an amusement than a concern at the moment, and he’d deal with any side effect when they showed up. The weeks went by, and he didn’t even question the twinkling sounds that accompanied his tears, slowly growing used to it. His friends began to point out how shiny his tears were, and some cracked jokes, even taking pictures out of curiosity, but when asked why they were acting that way, the only answer the purple inkling had for them was a shrug and a laugh.</p><p>Avi only began to realize something was wrong when he mistook Bamboo for Blazer, and after laughing off the weird looks they gave him, he began to take notice of his loss of color. Purples and blues were practically the same, and he could no longer tell apart the lighter and darker greens. He rubbed away the tears that fell as he tried to rack him mind for an answer, and noticed that his tears were also losing color, the once vibrant gradient now dulled. Whatever disease this was, it was taking away his sight.</p><p>One eye checkup later confirmed his fears-he was going colorblind. Yet even with the diagnosis, the optometrists themselves didn't have an answer as to what was causing the sudden loss, or how to explain the star shaped tears. Fear welled up inside of him at the prospect of going completely colorblind, yet he didn’t know what the solution to his problem was. Was he doomed to sit back and watch as the last of the colors faded away?</p><p>Avi could see all the vibrant colors of the city easily before, yet now whatever vision he did have left was going grey. After a few more weeks of searching for an answer with no results, he couldn’t tell different colors apart anymore, everything just different shades of dulled out grey. It was affecting his ability to go around, and he found himself getting lost much too often, enough for even Skull to be concerned. Worse, it was affecting his ability to play for his team. He had accidentally re-inked his own turf more than once, and had shot his teammates on accident due to no longer being able to recognize their purple.</p><p>Aviators didn’t want to admit it, but he was scared. Scared of losing the last of the colors, and forever living in black and white. He went back to the online rumors he had ignored at the beginning, and they all had the same ludicrous solution. Confess your love. </p><p>As much as he told himself there was no way that his loss of vision and his crush were connected, he still found himself texting to meet up with her the next day. Perhaps a desperate part of him was willing to try any solution, or maybe he had realized he wouldn’t be able to see her in all her glory for much longer. He met her at the location he had asked, diligently writing down notes, but quickly shutting her journal with a smile when he approached. She was still stunning in his eyes, her appearance almost entirely grey save for the last bit of brightness the orange of her tentacles gave off. It was enough to give him hope, and they sat down to chat.</p><p>They started with standard topics, how their teams were, what meals they had for dinner, and so forth. The whole time, he racked up his nerves to confess. He had forgoed bringing flowers and chocolates due to not trusting himself to be able to pick the right ones, so it was all on his words.</p><p>“By the way, how are your eyes?” She asked, slight worry in her tone.</p><p>“I heard from your teammates that it got worse.”</p><p>“Ah...yeah, I can barely see any color. Everything’s grey now. Doc said there’s nothing they can do about it.” He said it so casually, but it was obvious he was terrified at the news.</p><p>“Oh...that bad, huh?” She frowned, biting her lip in thought.</p><p>“I wish I could help you Avi, if only we knew what the solution was.”</p><p>“Hey, don’t stress about it, alright? Your presence is all I need to feel better.”</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>Here goes nothing. Avi spilled his heart out to her, how he’d fallen for her during their time spent together, how he loved everything about her from her habits to her smile, and by the time the soft “I love you.” came out, a massive weight had been lifted off of him. It felt good to finally talk about his feelings.</p><p>She was silent the entire time, blank expression giving nothing away. When he finished he looked at her expectantly, waiting for her response. It wasn’t what he wanted.</p><p>“Avi...I had no idea you felt that way. For that long too…”</p><p>“Yeah, I was nervous to talk about it, you know? But I figured it needed to come out eventually.”</p><p>“I’m sorry…” She stared down at her lap as her lip trembled.</p><p>“Sorry? For what?”</p><p>“I-I don’t know if I feel the same way.”</p><p>You could practically hear all of his hearts shatter. The static in his ears grew louder as he choked out a response.</p><p>“I…I see.”</p><p>“I’m so sorry….I-I should go.”</p><p>“Forge, wait!”</p><p>She stood up abruptly and left. Avi did nothing but stare as star shaped tears freely flowed from his eyes, no longer shining and vibrant, but still twinkling with lost luster. That was the last time he’d see orange.</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Computer Virus</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>// system malfunction, (idk how to tag it but getting your head stuck in something)</p><p>Important Note: The characters mentioned in this chapter are from the newest arc, so if you’d like to avoid spoilers I’d suggest just skipping.</p><p>On that note the guardians are siblings (with Justice being adopted) bc I said so. They’re also nby. bc I said so.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Justice hummed as they unplugged the wire connecting the computer to their helmet, making sure the display was clean by blowing off any dust before slipping the metal headgear onto their head, afro squishing up inside. The inside of the helmet was cool thanks to the pre-installed ventilation system, and the monitor at the front showed exactly what they would be seeing without the helmet. A truly successful innovation of modern cephalopod technology.</p><p>A single click to the side of the head was all it took for the display to start up, lines of code showing up on the inside as it processed the new update.</p><p>“BOOTING UP. PLEASE WAIT A FEW MINUTES.”</p><p>The voice that spoke to them from the inside was soft and pleasant to the ears, just how Justice liked it. It was a nice break from all the yelling from their siblings and the general chaos of the outside world. They hummed a small tune, the Calamari Inkantation to be exact, while watching the update bar go up. It eventually made a small beeping noise to notify them that it was finished.</p><p>“UPDATE COMPLETE. PROCEED WITH SCAN?”</p><p>“Proceed.”</p><p>Software updates were only once every few months, and call them a nerd, but they always had fun reading the patch notes and new features that came with it. Justice made it a small game, checking the list to see what bugs were fixed, and if they had encountered them previously. Though they were pretty sure there was no patch available for stupidity...</p><p>“SAFETY LATCH ACTIVATED.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>Their question was answered soon enough, a sudden tightness forming right below the chin as something clicked underneath it. Confused, they moved to take their helmet off, only to discover it wouldn’t budge, something cold blocking anything, even air, from entering through the lower part.</p><p>“NOW SCANNING FOR VIRUSES.”</p><p>The helmet wasn’t supposed to be locked in place while the scan was still ongoing! Did the new update change the default settings? Justice gripped the helmet, frantically trying to pull it off to no avail. They even tried to octo form, but the latch was too tight to wiggle out of. The safety latch was rubbing irritatingly against the octoling’s skin, and it was causing a pit of anxiety to form in their stomach.</p><p>“Get off….!”</p><p>A sudden alarm went off in the helmet, the volume much too loud to be played directly into anyone’s ears.</p><p>“SYSTEM ERROR. MALWARE DETECTED.”</p><p>They froze up. Malware? But that was impossible! They had always been careful to never expose the helmet to harmful viruses, and they updated the software constantly! So why now…?</p><p>“FIERCE! JET!” They screamed for their brother and sister over the horrible beeping noise that went into their ears and filled their mind. It was futile, even if their family was in the house, there was no way they were near their workspace, the octo now cursing ever putting a “DO NOT DISTURB” sign on the door.</p><p>“COMPLETE SYSTEM OVERRIDE COMMENCING.”</p><p>“GET IT OFF ME!”</p><p>Their helmet shut off completely, cutting off all of its features. The emergency alarm, the display, even the ventilation system, the oxygen that was freely flowing into the enclosed space moments before now quickly disappearing.</p><p>Justice was left in complete darkness.</p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Space</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>cant think of any triggers to tag</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Specs looked weary as he trudged his way out of the train cart and into yet another Kamabo Corp station, the doors automatically closing shut behind him. He was greeted with a familiar sight, glass walls littered with stickers that showed everything beyond that point, with the only way forward past a single train station toll directly in front of him. The surrounding area was a dark blue, with purple and pink hints all over. It reminded him of a starry night sky, something he’d gaze at for hours as he’d let the cold night air flow through his tentacles.</p><p>Under normal circumstances, the blue inkling would be admiring the scenery in awe, except he knew it was all fiction—some sort of elaborate setup to mimic the freedom of the outside. Still, it was a beautiful sight, no matter how fake it was. He’d still gaze at it for hours and maybe even nap if he had the time.</p><p>Specs hadn’t found his friends yet, losing track of them the moment he fell to the underground. There was no sign of them—if they were even here, which meant he had to go through all these tests by himself in hopes of reaching the surface again, where he prayed his teammates were already waiting for him. He’d even take the embarrassment and teasing from reaching the surface last in exchange for their safety.</p><p>Alas, the Blue team’s leader wasn’t going to get anywhere with wishful thinking, so he got to work immediately, clearing station after station to find these “thangs” the conductor said would help in his quest. It was a painful process to go through, and Specs didn’t know how many he’d be able to do before passing out. Sure, some were easy enough, but others….</p><p>He shuddered as he flashed back to the multiple teal skinned octolings attacking him and the orb all at once with their specials, the stingray tearing through him as he tried desperately to splat them with his brush, the sound of tenta missiles exploding all around him, the barrage of splat bombs he was unable to stop, the explosion of teal engulfing him when he failed to protect the orb—He did eventually get past that obstacle, but not without a few brand new scars and enough trauma to last him a few months, maybe even years.</p><p>Specs walked up to the glass wall to the right of the train, not because he was interested in the platform past it, but rather looking to see his reflection. Ugly teal ink dripped from his chin and ears, staining his previously pure white polo in the color he was beginning to hate a LOT. Those were only on the parts of his body that were visible, the stains probably covered his entire back, sliding down and eating away at the exposed skin of his calves.</p><p>“Do you wish to rest?” A small voice, barely audible, came from behind him.</p><p>Specs jumped up in surprise and whipped his head towards the source to see CQ Cumber stuck to the wall across from him.</p><p>“W-What the—when did you get here?” Specs swore that he was alone when he entered the area, and that any sea cucumber wouldn’t be able to sneak up on him that easily. Was he really that distracted?</p><p>“That’s none of your concern.” The conductor whispered, in the same tone he used to say the horrible words Specs always heard right before he burst into teal ink.</p><p>“It’s my job to facilitate your journey to the promised land, so while not necessary, feedback would be useful.”</p><p>The blue inkling stared at his sudden companion for a few seconds before sighing.</p><p>“...Yeah. I do want to rest, but I don’t know if I should.” Specs replied. His body was weary, but his mind was far from it. He was far too worried about his friends’ whereabouts to care about how tired he was, his main objective being to locate them and escape.</p><p>“Why is that?”</p><p>“I need to find my friends, and a way out of here.” He ran a hand through his tentacles in frustration.</p><p>“Whatever you’re looking for, you’ll find it eventually. You just need to give it time.”</p><p>“I dont know if I HAVE time!” His voice rose, welled up frustration starting to show.</p><p>“Cod, I just-I’m just so scared that something’s happened to them.” The beginnings of tears started to form, and he wiped them away before any fell.</p><p>“I don’t know what happened to them after they fell, or if they’re even here! They might have broken something, or worse—and I’m just waltzing around failing tests like an idiot!”</p><p>“Kid, listen to me. Sometimes life is like a commute. You make the decision to get on, make friends with the passengers who’re on the train too, and you get off at the station when you wish, but you don’t control anything besides that.”</p><p>CQ outstretched a tentacle out to tap the inkling on the shoulder, but he didn’t respond.</p><p>“You can’t stop the other passengers from leaving, and you can’t tell the conductor to stop wherever you want. What if there’s something broken in the engine? You certainly can’t predict that. The way to your destination could be straightforward or full of stops, and you might not even make it to the place you want—In the end, it’s all up to the train that is life. You’ll be happier if you take a seat rather than fight every shortcoming fate hands you.”</p><p>Specs stared at him, blinking a few times as he processed CQ’s wisdom before sighing and trudging forward, taking a seat next to the small conductor. His back leaned fully against the glass as his body finally slumped down in exhaustion. Maybe he was pushing himself too much after all.</p><p>Specs looked past the glass walls once more, an endless space awaiting him, tempting him with it’s false beauty. His eyes fluttered shut from exhaustion a few times before he closed them fully, deciding to rest before continuing on.</p><p>He’d find his friends and get out of here, no matter what.</p>
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<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Dolls</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>// dolls, implied injury, losing consciousness</p><p>btw next chapter will be a continuation of this</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Can we please get rid of that thing?”</p><p>Double Egg jerked a thumb at the antique doll placed carefully on the bookshelf next to the TV, its legs hanging nonchalantly over the top shelf. It was a somewhat large doll of an inkling girl, head a tad bit too large for its body to carry, with crimson eyes staring straight into your soul. It had long red tentacles with black tips, and was dressed up in a frilly white dress, smiling at an empty space with a small yet toothy grin.</p><p>“I would, but mother dearest would kill me with her bare hands if she found out I trashed it.” Vintage drawled, playing with the remote in his hands absentmindedly and flicking through the different channels.</p><p>“She went on and on about how oh, it’s a family heirloom, passed on from one of my great grandpas that are buried in the dirt already, it would be horrible for it to gather dust in their home, so it was about time they passed it onto me. Same bullshit as usual.”</p><p>“What’s with your parents and giving you haunted shit in the first place? I swear that thing’s staring right at me.” Double shifted uncomfortably, rubbing his side against Omega, who was sitting next to him on the couch.</p><p>“It’s just a doll, Eggy.” Omega sighed, leaning against his chest in response to his movements and patting it reassuringly.</p><p>“It won’t hurt you.”</p><p>“Well it sure is making me feel like it will.” He grumbled, wrapping an arm around her waist and pressing a small kiss to the top of her head.</p><p>“I think she looks cute!” Red Sole piped up, swinging her legs back and forth while looking at it with eyes full of fascination.</p><p>“It looks like one of those things on display in pawn shops that you’d always want to buy but never actually do!”</p><p>“I don’t think anyone would ever want to buy that.” Double rolled his eyes.</p><p>“Can we at least NOT put it in the living room?”</p><p>“I’m not allowing it in the kitchen or my bedroom.” Vintage finally turned to look at the bane of their existence, the doll still seemingly staring at them with its big red eyes.</p><p>“Well what about-”</p><p>“Not the bathroom.”</p><p>“As long as it’s not in my room either.”</p><p>“What happened to ‘It’s just a doll’?”</p><p>“It doesn’t fit my aesthetic.”</p><p>“Geez, if none of you want it, I’ll keep it!” Red huffed, walking up to the doll and picking it up casually.</p><p>She smiled as she took in all of the details, from the cloth the small dress was made from to the real leather used for the shoes. She pokes the red tentacles of the doll with a finger, the material oddly similar to the feel of her own hair, before cradling it in her arms.</p><p>“She’s so cute! I’ll put her somewhere in my room.”</p><p>“Then have fun with her.” Double rolled his eyes.</p><p>“I hope I never see that thing again.”</p><p>—</p><p>CRASH!</p><p>A sudden crashing noise made Red wake up from her sleep, grumbling as she forced her eyes open and sat up from the bed. She yawned and rubbed her eyes awake as she hopped off her cozy mattress and shuffled towards the wall, feeling for the lightswitch for a few seconds before flicking the lights on.</p><p>A bunch of her makeup had fallen from the vanity, including the metal case with all her nail polish, which was what seemed to have cause such a loud noise.</p><p>“What…?”</p><p>She squinted at the fallen makeup, and then at her reflection in the vanity. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the door to her room slightly ajar. Her makeup was all there at a glance, but there was no way to really tell due to the amount. Did someone walk in and steal her makeup? In the middle of the night? No way Omega or Vintage would go to all that trouble, which left...</p><p>“I swear to cod Double, if you eat my lipbalm again…” She grumbled as she walked out of her room, not noticing something else was missing.</p><p>She stepped out of her room, and immediately noticed the white light piercing through the darkness. A few more steps and she realized it was coming from the slightly open refrigerator door. Did someone forget to close it? With a sigh she approached the kitchen, still grumpy from being woken up.</p><p>“Ugh, am I the only responsible person in this household?”</p><p>Red walked over to it with a slouch and kicked the door closed, leaving her in complete darkness. She was about to go to Double’s room when a sudden high pitched giggle cut through the silence of the area. She whipped her head towards the noise, but was only greeted with darkness. Confused, she looked around, ears twitching for any movement.</p><p>….Nothing. Red waited a few more seconds, and more giggles came, though they were quieter than before, as if the person making them knew she was listening in. On second thought, she’d go confront Double in the morning, this was giving her the creeps.</p><p>She turned to go back to her room, taking one step forwards before something cold entered her back, a meaty, gross noise following, along with a sharp and searing pain. She barely had time to scream before another unwelcome surge of nerves followed, causing her to collapse with pained gasps.</p><p>Red lifted her head as high as she could, a last attempt to see her attacker as consciousness quickly abandoned her body.</p><p>The last thing she saw was wide, glowing red eyes, and a plastic smile.</p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Knives</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Happy Halloween! Guess this fic is becoming an October-November thing. Hopefully it doesnt go all the way to December.</p><p>As mentioned before, this is a continuation of last chapter.</p><p>// knives, stab wounds, dolls</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Double yawned as he trudged out of his room, woken up in the middle of the night by a growling stomach. It definitely wasn’t the first time his hunger had pestered him awake, and it wasn’t too close to the morning yet either, so he figured he’d grab a midnight snack.</p><p>He always enjoyed this time of night, the silence of a sleeping city combined with the night sky filled with neon lights was a beautiful thing to gaze at while eating a sandwich or two. What would make it perfect is if Omega was awake too, woken up by her light sleeping habits and already waiting for him at the kitchen table, scrolling through her phone. Then they could chat till the sun came up, and if he was lucky maybe get a kiss…</p><p>Well, it was just a thought. Double shuffled towards the kitchen, hoping to see Omega already there, but instead saw a familiar set of pigtails poking out from behind the counter. Oddly enough, they were positioned as if the person’s head was laying down against the ground, though he didn’t notice just yet.</p><p>“Hey Red.” The tired inkling spoke, waving lazily as he approached.</p><p>He’d recognize those pigtails anywhere. It didn’t surprise him to see her at this hour, even if it didn’t happen as frequently as his alone time with Omega. Red would also wake up too early sometimes, and as a result they’d stay up watching turf war reruns while yelling at the teams on screen. Good times.</p><p>The other inkling didn’t respond to his greeting, and Double frowned, taking a step towards the counter and pausing at the odd squelching sound that came from his footstep. He took another slow step forward, and another squelch came from the floor, this time slower due to his movement.</p><p>….Had Vintage mopped the area after dinner? Surely there was no other reason for the floor to be wet. </p><p>“Hey, you hear me?” He called out to his teammate again, yet again receiving no response.</p><p>Double’s footsteps felt heavier as he slowly pushed himself towards the counter, a sudden feeling of nervousness washing over him. He racked his mind and thought of the possibilities, from the most likely to the most insane. Maybe Red had fallen asleep while enjoying the quiet of the room, or perhaps she had tripped with a glass of water in hand and hit her head, falling unconscious as a result. That would be pretty bad, but it certainly paled in comparison to what he actually saw.</p><p>He went around the counter, and froze at the sight before him. Red lay slumped against the kitchen counter, eyes closed in pain with a kitchen knife embedded into her stomach, multiple other stab wounds visible even in the dark.</p><p>Panic quickly rose inside of him as he backed away instinctively, only now noticing the blue blood pooling out all around her body.</p><p>His mind raced, who—or what, did this? Who would do such a thing?</p><p>Before he could think further, a small, childlike giggle came from behind him. He whipped his head in time to see glowing red eyes, a big porcelain smile, and the glint of metal in the doll’s hands.</p><p>-</p><p>Double let out a small whimper as he lay in bed, cold sweat drenching his pillow and entire body. His arms were gripping the other person wrapped around him so tightly she woke up from the sudden vice grip she was stuck in. Omega shimmied to move an arm out, and then smacked the bigger inkling lightly on the face, making him wake up with a jolt. His eyes snapped open and his body instinctively pushed itself away from the bed, making him fall off with a loud thud.</p><p>“Eggy, what the fuck?” Omega yawned as she begrudgingly got off the bed to help him up.</p><p>“I-I….” He looked dumbfounded for a moment as he stared at her outstretched hand, trying to process what he had seen. Was it all a dream?</p><p>A knock on the door caught both of their attention, and it opened from the other side to reveal Red Sole, looking rather upset.</p><p>“Oh good, you two are awake.” She glanced down at Double on the floor for a second or two in confusion before continuing to speak.</p><p>“Did any of you guys sneak into my room last night? I swear I put the doll on my vanity last night, but when I woke up she was gone!”</p><p>The doll?</p><p>“No, me and Egg—I mean Double, went to bed together. I would have noticed if he had left.” Omega pursed her lips in thought, standing upright and forgetting about Double on the floor.</p><p>“And I don’t think Vintage would go through the effort for something like that-”</p><p>Double suddenly burst out laughing, cutting off the conversation, and he continued to laugh as he pushed himself up. The laughter came from happiness, relief, or a combination of the two—it didn’t really matter to him. What did matter was that the doll was gone, and nobody was dead. He was still in hysterics as he pulled the two others into a big hug.</p><p>“I love you guys so much.” He giggled.</p><p>“Promise me neither of you will get stabbed.”</p><p>“.....Are you okay?”</p><p>“Omega, your boyfriend is insane.”</p>
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<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Creepy Smile</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>//sanitized octolings (just their existence)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nana grit her teeth as she forced her way forward, clutching the giant rainmaker tightly as she tried to quickly reach her destination. A single straight line of magenta ink stood out clearly in the sea of otherwise teal ink, the octoling swimming as fast as she could through it.</p><p>This stage was someplace she didn’t recognize, or at least had never seen a replica of in the domes. It was likely something based on the surface, but of course she had no way to really know. Metal containers of different colors surrounded the area, joining some moving vehicles in blocking her way forward. Nana easily swam up one of the moving objects and popped up back into her humanoid form, charging up a shot to shoot more ink for her to swim through.</p><p>Her way forward was cut short by the sudden appearance of a sanitized octoling, the soldier firing a blast from her weapon and easily forcing her to dodge and land back onto the ground, where she was promptly splatted with another well planned blaster shot. The familiar sound of the blast rang in her ears as she floated back to the respawn point, cursing as she watched the rainmaker fall and form its protective barrier around itself. Even more infuriating, the octoling who had splatted her looked up at her floating ghost, making eye contact and giving her a creepy smile before retreating back to their base.</p><p>The octoling soldiers she had to face throughout the different stations looked almost exactly like her, from the troop outfit she used to wear, to the four tentacles on her head curled up in the same way. The main difference was that the soldiers looked much more terrifying. Their tentacles were a deep blue with tints of yellow, and their skin was a sickly teal, similarly colored ink dripping from their bodies as they moved.</p><p>There were many more further away, nearer to the goal, but whereas the ones in the back retained a neutral expression, the one that had splatted her always seemed to have her lips curled up into some sort of smile. It was unsettling, but she didn’t have much time to contemplate why that was so. Nana super jumped back to the rainmaker the moment she respawned, and as she landed she noticed the warning signs of her opponents’ return.</p><p>Steeling herself, she aimed at the super jump sign, where the octoling soldier would land. She expected it to be an easy splat, but then she heard the oh so familiar sound of a certain special activating. Her eyes widened as she realized too late that it was a set up, and a splashdown followed a second after, sending her flying backwards as her armor was destroyed. She didn’t even have time to get up before a blaster shot followed up on the splashdown, splatting her once again.</p><p>The pounding in her ears never went away, no matter how many times she respawned. The loud clinking noise of the blaster haunted her every time she heard it. Each route, each time, that sickening smile mocked her right before teal ink engulfed her, and she was sent back to the start.</p><p>Nana was getting irritated and anxious, considering there wasn’t much time left. She checked the timer just to make sure….less than one minute. She could still do this. Huffing, she sped towards where the rainmaker lay, but instead of going to break the shield, she charged at the octolings surrounding it, gripping the splattershot in her hands tightly.</p><p>The first one had a roller, raising it up high to flick it towards her. She easily dodged the attack and splatted the soldier before a different octoling with a slosher attacked her as well. She backed away, getting hit by teal ink before splatting that soldier too. It was fine, the ink would evaporate in a few seconds, which meant she could focus on carrying the rainmaker while the soldiers were respawning.</p><p>Nana quickly popped the barrier and hefted the rainmaker up, aiming and shooting a blast towards a super jump point, splatting another soldier before she could even land. Goal in sight, she grinned, feeling the adrenaline rush through her body as she fired another shot of ink to swim through. Just a bit more-</p><p>Something swept at her feet and made her topple face first onto the hard, ink covered cement. Her hands instinctively let go of her only weapon, the rainmaker falling helplessly in front of her. She hissed as the teal ink burned her skin, about to push herself up before a small giggle from above stopped her.</p><p>Nana looked up, misery in her eyes as the red glint of hypnoshades greeted her, along with the creepy smile plastered on the soldier’s face. She raised the blaster, and held it to her head.</p><p>“Test failed.”</p>
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<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Tongue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>// tongue mutilation, blood, being captured</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So, you live around here?” Gloves chuckled a bit to himself, mostly out of nervousness.</p><p>The octoling soldiers ignored his words, silently tying the last knots of rope around his arms and legs. He lay on the cold hard ground, deep inside an octarian dome with his headset and armor stripped from him. His hands were forced behind his back, bound together so tightly he could feel them digging into his skin, and his feet were in a similar position—the most he was able to do was prop his legs up enough for his knees to bend.</p><p>He really should have been more careful, or at least have taken someone else with him. Turns out running straight into an enemy base trying to speedrun the mission was a terrible idea, who would have thought? Definitely not him, and he was rewarded for his stupidity with an ambush, a throbbing head, and now an interrogation, if the octoling leering over his body was any indication.</p><p>“You….you were one of the squids who took our commander…”</p><p>The soldier speaking looked to be one of the more elite ones, tentacles a jet black and kelp tied to her hypnoshades. The others surrounding him had magenta ink, their back facing him to trap the green inkling in a circle of sorts.</p><p>“Well, there are an awful lot of inklings out there, maybe you got the wrong guy?” </p><p>A steel toed boot stomps directly onto his chest, making him wheeze in pain and gasp for breath.</p><p>“Enough of your foolishness. Where is he?”</p><p>“No idea what you’re talking about.”</p><p>She pushed her foot harder into his chest, more grunts of pain escaping from his mouth. Gloves was dumb, but he wasn’t a traitor, that was for sure.</p><p>“I’ll ask you one more time. Where. Is. Commander. Octavio?”</p><p>“Do you really want to know?” He whispered lowly, tempting her to come closer. She took the bait, kneeling down next to him and putting an ear near his lips.</p><p>“Fuck you.”</p><p>A flash of anger appeared behind her shades, and she raised her foot one more time to crush his chest under her boot again before sudden yelling from behind made her freeze, leg in midair.</p><p>One of the other soldiers ran up to them, saying something in Octarian while occasionally looking towards Gloves. The leader nodded her head in understanding, lowering her foot down to the ground. She replied in Octarian as well, and even if he couldn’t understand a word they were saying, the conversation seemed to at least involve the captured agent.</p><p>Finally, they both nodded their heads to each other, and the other soldier saluted the leader before running off, the other soldiers who were surrounding Gloves dispersing to jog after her as well. He strained his neck to look up at the only remaining octoling, her gaze meeting his own. She knelt down next to him again, but this time the beginnings of a cruel smile tugged on her cheeks, and he felt himself shrink up at the stare.</p><p>“We have no use for you anymore.”</p><p>He opened his mouth to ask what she meant, and that was his worst mistake. A gloved hand grabbed the tip of his tongue, the inkling making a confused noise at the action, unable to form a full word. Then the octoling flashed a knife, and Gloves saw the glint of its metal before a sudden harsh pain engulfed his mouth.</p><p>He jerked his head away and screamed in pain, words coming out as gargled messes. He tried to yell profanities, but couldn’t due to all the blood gushing out of where his tongue was supposed to be.</p><p>The octoling gave the agent one last glare, a content smile forming on her face at his agony before walking away, tossing his severed tongue behind her back. It landed a few inches away from his face, and he stared at it in horror before beginning to choke.</p><p>Gloves felt like he was drowning, unable to taste the blood flowing into his mouth but feeling it creeping out of the stump that used to be his tongue. He forced himself to roll onto his side, in an attempt to spit out the excess of liquid filling up his mouth, and when he did, dark blue liquid splattered onto the ground. It stained the cold ground, shining against the faint light of the dome.</p><p>It was disgusting to see, and Gloves shut his eyes, tears beginning to well up as he choked out more blood, all alone in enemy territory.</p>
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<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Bitten</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Imagine updating a goretober in APRIL. unfortunately me.</p><p>Just a heads up I guess that no, I’m not gonna do all 31 anymore. The only reason I decided to update this again was because these drafts were already sitting in my drive and I got inspiration for a vampire motif.</p><p>There will be one final chapter after this one that I’ll publish eventually, and that’ll be it for this prompt list. No idea if I’ll do goretober again for 2021, but if there’s a lot of people that want me to I’ll find a prompt list that’s a bit tame in the coming months.</p><p>//biting, bleeding</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Headphones crept through the dark forest, slowly and steadily making her way through the tall trees as she pushed her way forward, constantly gripping her phone tightly as its light shone on the path ahead. Her challenge was simple on text; follow the path around the forest, and end up back at the campsite. However, the fact that she was doing it at night, with only the full moon illuminating the entire area, made it so that everything was a hundred times more scary. The foliage above her that would normally be welcome shade from the sun played tricks on her mind, and created imaginary beings she couldn’t help but try to escape from.</p><p>The sound of a branch snapping in the distance made her jump, and a few birds flapped their wings as they fled in the opposite direction of where she was headed. She watched them go fly off towards the distance, and took big, deep breaths, repeating the action until her hearts had stopped racing a mile a minute.</p><p>“Just keep walking.” Headphones mumbled to herself, immense regret already flooding her head as she continued on her way.</p><p>She didn’t get far before she stopped in her tracks, her flashlight shining light on the tree in front of her. Sharp claw marks were embedded into the trunk, and they looked deep—scarily deep. Her body went rigid, before remembering that Gloves had mentioned a marked tree as a checkpoint. This was actually a good thing—not something to be afraid of….right?</p><p>“They said go right at this point…” She de-tensed her muscles, convincing herself that her friends had made the mark for her benefit, before continuing on her way.</p><p>She had managed to get a good distance away from the tree when the light from her phone suddenly went out. Headphones frowned, and flipped it over to try and turn it on. Dead. The flashlight had used up more battery than she thought it would. She gulped nervously as she realized she was now completely alone in the forest without a light source, no way to contact for help, and only a faint idea on which direction to follow. Great, just great.</p><p>The wind suddenly seemed to get louder—so much louder that how it should be. Headphones tensed up as chills ran all over her spine, practically paralyzing her with fear as her legs shook.</p><p>Another branch snapped, the sound much louder this time, and she whirled her head towards the noise. Glowing green eyes stared at her from the shadows. She took a step back. The eyes looked directly at her and blinked.</p><p>Headphones turned around and sprinted as fast as she could, adrenaline pumping through her veins as the feeling of dread in her stomach bloomed against her will. She didn’t get very far, and after passing about five trees a strong force pushed her against the trunk of the nearest one, making her cry out in a mix of pain and fear.</p><p>She was going to die now. Whatever this thing was, it was going to kill her. Was that it?</p><p>“Hey now…” A voice crooned, startling her. “if your heart keeps pumping like that, you’ll lose quite a lot of blood…..”</p><p>“L-Let go of me!” She squirmed a bit, but the creature (or was it person?) had a tight grip on her.</p><p>“Relax, this will only take a second.” Strong hands pulled her head towards her right, fully exposing her neck to the cold air.</p><p>“No hard feelings, I just gotta eat.”</p><p>A sharp pain coursed through her body as fangs plunged into her neck, the smell of blood mixed with the pain around her neck immediately overwhelming her senses. A pained cry escaped her mouth as the fangs sank deeper and deeper, blood freely flowing out of the puncture wound and the sounds of slurping echoing in her mind before she fell limp against the mysterious figure’s arms.</p><p>They licked the wound on her neck clean of blood, not wasting a single drop, before stroking her cheek, pressing a thumb to it and giving a relieved sigh when they noticed she was still breathing normally. Good, they didn’t drink too much. Her expression was no longer pained, but rather peaceful, as the pain had subsided the moment their fangs were removed. They shifted their body slightly to pick her up bridal style, and began to walk towards a new direction.</p><p>“Better get her to the others…”</p><p>-</p><p>“Ah, I think she’s waking up! Everyone—don’t disturb her all at once!”</p><p>She stirred slightly as a bit of rumbling from the shifting of bodies disturbed her slumber, the light from the lantern above making her squint before suddenly being embraced by three different people.</p><p>“Gah!”</p><p>“Headphones! We were so worried!” Specs was trembling as he gripped her shoulders, from the looks of it he was on the verge of tears.</p><p>“Are you okay? Do you know what happened?” </p><p>“No, I...where am I?”</p><p>“You and Bobble’s tent!” Goggles chirped up. “We figured you needed rest so we patched you up after we brought you here.”</p><p>“Do you know how you passed out?” Bobble asked, still smiling as usual, but with her eyebrows furrowed in as much concern as she could show.</p><p>“I...don’t really remember.” She sighed, reaching up to feel the wound mark on her neck and being slightly surprised it had already been bandaged up.</p><p>“It might have been an animal?”</p><p>“Woah, seriously?!” Goggles gasped. “Was it an eagle something?”</p><p>“I knew the forest was too dangerous to go thorugh at night!” Specs huffed while looking back to glare at Gloves, who just held up his hands defensively.</p><p>“Hey, you told me to come up with dares and I did! She didn’t HAVE to take it!”</p><p>Specs still scowled at him, but didn’t push the topic further and went back to giving his attention to Headphones.</p><p>“I’m just glad you’re safe. You’re lucky Half Rim managed to find you, we didn’t know the first place to look.”</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>Headphones heard a small cough coming from her left, and sure enough when she turned her head the poker faced inkling was seated next to her, not a single word out of their mouth earlier to notify her of their presence.</p><p>“Ah...you rescued me?”</p><p>“We split up to find you after you didn’t respond to any calls, and I found you quite near the camp.” They nodded. “Good fortune, is it not?”</p><p>“I...I guess. Thank you.” She gave a wry smile at them, and a small smile of their own flashed for a brief second before fading by her next blink.</p><p>“A-Anyway, she’s probably been through a lot tonight.” Specs adjusted his glasses as he spoke, indicating he was being very serious. “Let’s give her some space and also some time to rest, guys.”</p><p>The others muttered quietly in agreement and left the tent one by one, until it was only Rims left with Headphones. </p><p>“Hey, rest up a bit. That bite mark will take a bit to heal.” Half Rim gave her hand a small yet powerful squeeze before standing up and exiting the tent, leaving her frowning in thought.</p><p>“....How did he know I was bitten?”</p>
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